Feeling depressed after stopping the birth control pills?

Hang in there sweetie..... i got my period on sunday and have been feeling anxious and nervous and vulnerable and crying my eyes out for 2 days. We got this! Remember that it's not as bad as it used to be... allow the feelings and remember they cant hurt you. we don't have to believe everything our minds tell us.... especially when its irrational.... breath and remind yourself you going to be ok. i have a great song for you... Jenn Johnson, " you're gonna be ok" look it up on YouTube....

Thank you ! I was actually thinking about you the other day,
I remember you replied to my first post here and all my others.
But it sounds like your doing so much better.
I just keep trying to stay busy and keep my mind on things I like doing.
-sam

Definitely much better!!! I'm hoping to not have to deal with the depression next week ...but yeah the last 2 weeks before period are normal now... the me I know. so progress for sure!!!

That’s really good!
I’m not quite there yet
I still have it constantly on my mind but I am still able to enjoy things and sometimes the thoughts don’t make me as anxious more just a slight nervous feeling and questioning why I’m even having those thoughts.
But hopefully in the next few months it will get better
My symptoms only started two months ago in feb and they were really bad panic attack at that stage.
I think time is going to be the biggest healer

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well. I check in here once in a while, either I’m struggling or doing great! I’m over 2 years off which is amazing because in the beginning I felt like I’d never make it to this point! I’d say that the last year I’ve 100% recovered with a few minor setbacks (which is normal). My biggest problem was ROCD, anxiety and depression. I was in such a big funk and found it so hard to get out, but once I did it was amazing! yes, I STILL have bad days. Most of my days have been good for a while now and I’m so happy about it. I remember crying in the car a couple months ago just saying to myself that I’m back, I’m happy and I’m normal again. this past week has been a little rough for me. I don’t think there is a reason behind it, which stinks! But my anxiety has been pretty bad and I’ve felt a little odd towards my relationship. I know this will pass, like it did once before. I just wanted to say that we will have our ups and downs, but I think this experience will forever change us all and make us stronger women.

Wow thank you for this update!! So happy to hear you’ve recovered. I hope your anxiety fades away soon, I think this whole experience has made us hyperaware of anxiety even when it’s just regular feelings of anxiety. We have to remember everyone gets anxious from time to time. But overall it’s awesome to see that you’ve gone back to yourself :)

Thank you SO MUCH for checking back in after all this time! So many of us wish to hear from the ladies that have been through this a year ago or longer so thank you for the encouragement.
SO glad you are yourself again... I do think we will have ups and downs but they wont EVER be at the crazy level we' ve all experienced but yes, perhaps we will be more "alert" to the changes because of the impact but i'm sure that with even more time, that too will fade and we will remember it has being a very challenging time in our lives but wont remember the detail.

Its good to hear some positive feedback !

Yes definitely! Hang in there. I remember when it felt like it would never end for me but I DID find better days. There will be lots of ups and downs but nothing we can’t get through. I wish you all the best, you are not alone and you can beat this!

Yes we can. Its been 6 months since symptoms started and yes the good days are definitely a lot more than the bad days. Still get a little wonky 5 - days after my period for about 10 days and then it gets better again although when i'm in it , it feels like it will never stop but yeah.... its like 90 % better than where I was :-) and like you say, we got through the really bad days, we can do it again

Okay so I am entering month 4 off BC
What was everyone’s experiences with this ?
I have had improvements but the anxiety and ocd symptoms are sticking around.

HI there!, so every month gets better right... but yes it takes time for stuff to heal. Month 4 for me was till a challenge wth anxiety and ocd thougths...but not as bad as say in month 1 and 2... I noticed that with each month certain thoughts would "get resolved" if that makes sense? like my mind would no longer fixate on a particular thought, so then the next thought that was causing issues would be the focus and then that one would resolve to.... the only way I can explain it is like this: when you get hurt of sick the initial stage is trauma, you have pain, inflammation fever etc.... your body begins working frantically to fix what's broken and no matter what you do, TIME is the best healer. As time passes you start healing or feeling better, you might find though that the site you hurt yourself is looking better but feels weak, so your body is still healing or your fever is gone but you still have a lingering cough and feel tired when you do too much.... its sort of the same with where you at now.... your body is healing but the fact that symptoms are persisting is just a sign that your body is still figuring things out ... slowly but surely. not sure if you on any supplements but if you can, look into getting some B12. I just recently topped up on my B vitamins as I ran out and found this product that has specifically B12, B1, B2 , B6 and B5 and the bottle also states that its a supplement for a Vit B deficiency from antibiotic treatment, contraception, stress and neuralgia. I was surprised to read "contraception on the label...lol which id know that earlier, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Anyways, have done a lot of reading and researching and what became apparent to me was that the adrenal glands play a huge role in this and the neurotransmitters are affected in a major way causing all this weirdness. I know its not pleasant, and that's putting it mildly, the OCD thoughts are the pits but it gets better with each cycle.

Have you noticed any patterns as to when the anxiety and OCD thinking is really bad?.... for me its just after my period, till after the fertility window closes.... then the 2 weeks leading up to my period are great....

Thank you for your response, such a good way of putting it.
I have noticed this cycle I’m not constantly thinking of my thoughts where before I could be having a conversation with someone and literally just be thinking about what is going on in my head,
Keeping busy is the best thing for me at the moment.
I’m pretty much the same straight after my period until ovulation. and maybe a day or two before hand. I still seem to have the thoughts throughout the whole month but don’t affect me as much during these times :)

Hi guys, I'm 9 months off and having a massive setback. Im on holiday and was nervous about flying, now the plane has triggered panic attacks almost as bad as day 1. I also have a stomach bug, am all fevery and cant stop shaking. I'm terrified of getting the plane home. Ive been stuck indoors for days and just feel the anxiety and panic building up. This is awful:(

Don’t let it get to you,
It doesn’t mean you have gone back to the way you were before you will start to feel good again,
Where are you in your cycle?
Just try and take your mind off it! :)

I like how you describe it "thinking of my thoughts" .... I used to have that issue too. Now its more like I forget about the thoughts and then when I catch myself enjoying life and having fun in the moment, I think about the thoughts and either brush them off or they start haunting me a little. Keeping busy is great but don't isolate yourself. even if you don't feel like being around people, make an effort. It feels taxing and exhausting but it helps so much.

This month has been weird for me in that the OCD thoughts have been resolved and now there's nothing to obsess about so I feel like I'm walking on egg shells almost expecting a trigger to set me off but thankfully, I'm good.... this week has been a little wonky but nothing exaggerated and i'm ovulating currently so if this is the worst, then I can so live with it. its a walk in the park to previous months

There's hope sweetie... always hope

Finally seeing the future as adventurous again instead of feeling overwhelmed by it